Criticism of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan intensified last week over a controversial phone call between Catholic leaders and President Donald Trump.
The call, intended to focus on helping Catholic schools weather the Coronavirus pandemic, turned into something of a political rally as the president repeatedly praised his own record on Catholic issues and Dolan responded with encomiums.
None of the 600 Catholic educators and leaders brought up the treatment of immigrants or other issues on which they differ from the policy priorities of the president.
Two days after the call, Dolan appeared on the conservative morning talk show “Fox and Friends”, again praising the president’s leadership and crediting him with sensitivity “to the feelings of the religious community.”
Trump’s administration includes many high-profile conservative Catholics including Attorney General William Barr and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone.
He later did a video interview with Fr Matt Malone SJ, the editor of America, during which the cardinal said he got more criticism whenever he met with the pro-choice Democratic Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, or Mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, who is also a pro-choice Democrat.
“I just say, look, are we in the sacred enterprise of accompaniment and engagement and dialogue?” the cardinal asked. “When you do it, you risk criticism on both sides.”
A group of progressive Catholic leaders, including Sr Simone Campbell whose “Nuns on the Bus” campaigns have called attention to anti-poverty issues, Stephen Schneck, executive director of the Franciscan Action Network, and John Gehring, Catholic Program Director at Faith in Action, signed a letter chastising the cardinal.
The letter complained Dolan’s praise was misplaced because Trump is "a president who tears apart immigrant families, denies climate change, stokes racial division and supports economic policies that hurt the poor. There is nothing 'pro-life' about Trump's agenda.”
They called on the cardinal to “speak truth to power” adding, “this president’s extreme cruelty and basic lack of respect for human dignity must be challenged.”
Meanwhile the Archdiocese of New Orleans, like many dioceses already struggling financially due to settlements with victims of clergy sex abuse, filed for bankruptcy protection last week, unable to cope with the collapse of donations due to the coronavirus. Archbishop Gregory Aymond stated that “the unforeseen circumstances surrounding Covid-19 have added more financial hardships to an already difficult situation.”
Aymond assured the faithful that the cost of sexual abuse settlements came from archdiocesan funds, which are distinct from parish monies raised in weekly collections. The increasing cost of the settlements threatened the archdiocese’s ability to pay additional victims, according to Aymond. "Very importantly, taking this action [bankruptcy] will allow us to address remaining clergy abuse claims, all of which stem from allegations dating back several decades ago, in a way that will allow funds to go directly to victims," he wrote.
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico announced it had filed a complaint with the Small Business Administration (Sba) which is administering the Payroll Protection grants, enacted to soften the economic blow from the pandemic. The Sba issued a rule saying it would not award grants to corporations in bankruptcy proceedings and the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and has not yet completed the process. The Payroll Protection program allows corporations with fewer than 500 people to obtain grants to cover their payroll expenses for two months.
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